Westcott Apollo - Tilt

^ OK, fair enough.
Specifics:
Bowens BW-6615 Portable Light stand (described some places as 'heavy duty' but there is an even 'heavier duty' one available so just use the BW-6615 code). 355cm (11¾ft) max, 97cm min, 100cm (3¼ft) closed. Black aluminium tubing (I think it's anodised but, with apologies, I ain't going to go scratch one just to find out ). Aluminium screw-lock adjustments. That much you can get from various webpages.

Load - I sometimes use it with a Manfrotto 085 boom arm (4¾lbs), plus Bowens Esprit 500 monolight (7½lbs), 3ftx4ft softbox and a homemade 16lbs lead counterweight. I use the counterweight efficiently (I can release the clamp on the swivel adapter and nothing swings down) so all the weight is effectively down the vertical axis - putting around 28¼lbs on it plus softbox. Tough enough for you? I have NOT tested this rig above 7¼ft vertical lift as my wife complains about holes in the ceiling - fussy woman simply doesn't understand the creative need.

Drawbacks - well, they might be for some folks.

• No air or spring cushioning. Not a problem for me, don't like 'em but some folks seem prone to not tightening clamps properly (or think they might be ) or their stands have rubbish clamps. I've never suddenly 'dropped' a light in over 40 years professional use, don't plan on starting now - 28lb boom rig or not. Yes, I've used air-cushioned in the past; found them a total PITA. Others will disagree with this.
  
• The stud on top is flat topped, no thread at all.
  

I use the baby boom approach and it works great.
Based on the UK price, I'd suggest our friends on that side of the pond look at Manfrotto for an alternative. I think they have an arm that will fit into a grip clamp, or something similar.

The grip arm is useful but too much hardware most of the time.

There is a post on my tech blog that shows both approaches including all the pieces I use with the baby boom.

dmward wrote in post #15413776
I use the baby boom approach and it works great.
Based on the UK price, I'd suggest our friends on that side of the pond look at Manfrotto for an alternative. I think they have an arm that will fit into a grip clamp, or something similar.

The grip arm is useful but too much hardware most of the time.

There is a post on my tech blog that shows both approaches including all the pieces I use with the baby boom.

Yes, the Manfrotto 042 extension arm (part # 203) plus a Manfrotto Super Clamp 035. Nowhere near as straightforward as the PCB offering - in fact the combination looks a bit of a 'lash-up'. Plus it's only a 4¾" extension which doesn't add greatly to the tiltability. At least a light(ish) boom arm can double up as an actual boom if required. I'd have a PCB Baby Boomer like a shot, it seems an elegant solution to a basic design problem - but there's no way on this Earth I'm paying the UK price.

I examined the concept of the 2 umbrella bracket + extension rod but didn't like the obvious strain on the bottom joint and the way it would be cantilevered to the extreme of stability in even routine usage.

An alternative solution will be found even if it means making one myself - until such time my 085 minus the end section works just fine.

Whortleberry wrote in post #15413897
Yes, the Manfrotto 042 extension arm (part # 203) plus a Manfrotto Super Clamp 035. Nowhere near as straightforward as the PCB offering - in fact the combination looks a bit of a 'lash-up'. Plus it's only a 4¾" extension which doesn't add greatly to the tiltability. At least a light(ish) boom arm can double up as an actual boom if required. I'd have a PCB Baby Boomer like a shot, it seems an elegant solution to a basic design problem - but there's no way on this Earth I'm paying the UK price.

I examined the concept of the 2 umbrella bracket + extension rod but didn't like the obvious strain on the bottom joint and the way it would be cantilevered to the extreme of stability in even routine usage.

An alternative solution will be found even if it means making one myself - until such time my 085 minus the end section works just fine.

Try searching for offset arm or junior offset arm at a grip equipment supplier.
I found a couple that are reasonable replacements for the baby boom at cinegearstore.com if you want to go there for reference.

I expect there would be similar in London or near by.

I find Ravelli stands to be pretty solid for the price unlike cheap stands designed to be bundled with lighting kits. If you really want a heavy duty stand look at the ABSL backdrop kit on Amazon. The stands are monsters and they are designed for dual duty to be used as light stands. When you need a backdrop or get more stands down the road they can be used for whatever purpose is needed.

I like Calumet stands. They are strong, well made, good price and available from Calumet at all of their facilities, US, Europe et al.

I looked at the Apollo softbox and decided that the 'tilt' was not sufficient. After looking around, I found the Micansu Eazy Up softbox, which has an adapter and can help to tilt fully. It was also lower in cost so that is what I have bought.

See this video http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=jxQgGIj3nqM

Hope this helps someone.

Malcolm

Malcolm: Yes, I too looked at that but I thought it looked rather flimsy and a bit makeshift. It still doesn't address the tilt problem adequately though. It's an improvement certainly as it moves the fulcrum closer to the enclosure edge but still not a full solution. I see it more as placing the light source close to the softbox axis than curing the tilt problem.

I have two options to tilt my all of my Westcott Apollo's.
1. Manfrotto 420 B Boom Stand
2. Two add ons from Westcott that allow tilt. Just use a Cuff Weight to weigh down stand.
Both work fine.
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=fXOYMOrYYfs

Nick5 wrote in post #15421156
I have two options to tilt my all of my Westcott Apollo's.
1. Manfrotto 420 B Boom Stand
2. Two add ons from Westcott that allow tilt. Just use a Cuff Weight to weigh down stand.
Both work fine.
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=fXOYMOrYYfs

Yes, that was my initial thought too; I've even got the individual components already. Then I thought of the moment about the fulcrum and Newton's various orders of levers (3rd order?? It's a l-o-n-g time since Grammar School Physics classops and went looking for a better balanced solution. For the time being, I'll use 2 of 3 sections of my Manfrotto 085 with a counterweight. The solution will come to me in the fullness of time either:

• In the middle of the night when I can't find a pen OR
  
• When I'm driving and can't pull over.
  

BradMatthews wrote in post #15410796
Hi drvnbysound.

Brad from Westcott. Thank you for the post.

This has always been my preferred method when needing extreme tilt out of any of the Apollos. There's a few other tricks floating around the Internet that I've seen shooters implement, but this is always the go too. We've recently explored a small modification to the Apollo line that would allow for significant tilt and without the need for any add-ons. We hope to see this update hit the market in early 2013 and something that current Apollo owners could upgrade or modify themselves. Both of which would only be a few bucks.

Thank you again for your support.

Cheers,
Brad

Brad Matthews..... I thought I recognized that name. I very much enjoyed your seminar at Southeastern Camera in Raleigh. Thanks again....

Hey guys.

Not sure if this was mentioned before, but wescott has a vid showing to do the tilt.

I actually like using their method for some small product shots; its not the strongest setup, but I tend to keep it all as low as possible to avoid possible tip overs. But once i start seriously into portraits, Im going to look into a C-stand, and maybe a boom.

The 'official' Westcott solution provides what is, at best, a work-around to a design shortcoming. The Apollo is automatically out of balance with the only option being sand-bagging. Even with that option in place, the unit is inherently unstable - a Cantilevered Compromise, with all which that implies.

The basic problem when using an enclosure with these restrictions seems to lie in positioning of the fulcrum either away from the vertical line of the stand or outside the enclosure. Quite which is the more elegant and stable solution I haven't yet decided. Until such time, compromise is the name of the game. Ah well, something to keep my tiny brain occupied till the world starts again after the consumerfest.

"Consumerfestivus"

My 28" wescott tilts enough for my uses. Since the terrible low quality zippers break within a short period of time and the stitching has low quality QC you can be more aggressive on the "tilt" since you cant close up the box properly anyways. Locally they sell similar products that are less money and better quality.